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Exercises

Front squat alternatives: wrists, rack position, or no barbell

Published October 23, 2026

The best front squat alternative is the Zercher squat if your wrists or front rack are the problem, because the bar sits in your elbows and still keeps you upright. In a gym, the hack squat gives the same upright, quad-heavy squat with no bar to hold. With dumbbells, do dumbbell front squats or goblet squats; with no equipment, Cossack squats.

What a front squat alternative has to replace

The front squat trains your quads hardest, with your glutes and inner thighs helping. The bar on the front of your shoulders forces an upright torso and lets your knees travel forward, so the load sits on your quads at the bottom of a deep squat.

A good replacement keeps the load in front of you or your torso upright, through the same deep knee bend.

How to do the front squat

Barbell, without the front rack

Keep the barbell but move it: into your elbows, onto your back, or to a landmine.

Best swap if your wrists hurt

Zercher Squat

Quads, Glutes

The bar rests in the bend of your elbows, so there is no front-rack grip at all, and the load in front keeps your torso upright like a front squat. It also works your upper back hard.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack a little below your elbows when your arms hang down.
  2. Step in, bend your knees and slide the bar into the creases of your elbows, then clasp your hands or touch your fists together close to your chest.
  3. Stand up to unrack, take two short steps back and set your feet about shoulder width with your toes slightly out.
  4. Breathe in, brace hard and sit down between your heels with your chest up and the bar tight to your body; let your elbows pass inside your knees at the bottom.
  5. Push through your whole foot to stand, keeping the bar close to your body.

Cues

  • Elbows up, chest proud
  • Squeeze the bar into your body
  • Sit between your heels

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows drop and the bar roll forward: keep your upper back tight and hold the bar close; if it keeps slipping, the weight is too heavy for your upper back.
  • Rounding the lower back at the bottom: squat only as deep as you can with a flat back and widen your stance a little if your elbows hit your thighs.
  • Wrapping the bar in a thick pad: a thin pad or a towel is fine, but a thick one pushes the bar away from your elbows and makes it harder to hold.
Build a session with Zercher Squat

Bar on your back instead

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

If holding the bar in front is the problem, put it on your upper back. You will lean forward a little more and use more glutes, and you can lift more weight.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in the rack at about armpit height, step under it and rest it on the meaty part of your upper back, hands just outside your shoulders.
  2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, stand up to raise the bar off the hooks and take two or three short steps back.
  3. Set your feet about shoulder width, toes turned slightly out, then breathe deep into your belly and tighten your trunk as if bracing for a punch.
  4. Bend at the hips and knees at the same time and sit straight down between your heels, knees moving forward and out in line with your toes.
  5. Go down until the crease of your hip passes below the top of your knee, keeping your whole foot on the floor.
  6. Drive up through your midfoot, keep your chest and hips rising at the same speed, and breathe out only once you are standing tall.

Cues

  • Big breath and brace before every rep
  • Knees out over your toes
  • Chest and hips rise together

Common mistakes

  • Squats getting shallower as the bar gets heavier: film from the side, count only reps where your hip crease sinks below your knee, and strip weight until they all do.
  • Hips shooting up first out of the bottom: the bar ends up over your toes and the set turns into a good morning, so drop the load and push your upper back into the bar as you stand.
  • Knees caving in on the way up: spread the floor apart with your feet and keep your knees pointed where your toes point.
Build a session with Barbell Back Squat

Landmine swap with no wrist bend

Landmine Hack Squat

Quads, Glutes

The bar end rests on the front of one shoulder and you hold it there with that hand, so you stay upright with your knees forward like a front squat, without the rack position. Good for a garage gym.

How to do it

  1. Load the free end of a landmine bar, lift it and rest the sleeve end on the front of one shoulder, holding it there with that hand.
  2. Reach your other arm straight out to the side for balance and set your feet about shoulder width.
  3. Brace and sit straight down, letting your knees drive forward over your toes with your chest up.
  4. Go as deep as you can with your heels down, then push through the middle of your feet to stand.
  5. Finish your reps, then move the bar to the other shoulder for the next set.

Cues

  • Bar pinned to your shoulder
  • Knees forward, heels heavy
  • Chest stays tall

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bar slide off your shoulder at the bottom: keep the elbow under it and the hand pressing it in.
  • Leaning toward the loaded side: keep your shoulders level and swap shoulders each set so both sides work the same.
  • Cutting depth as the set gets hard: stop the set one or two reps earlier instead.
Build a session with Landmine Hack Squat

Machines

A back pad or fixed path keeps you upright with nothing to hold, so your quads end the set.

Closest machine swap

Hack Squat

Quads, Glutes

The back pad holds you upright while your knees travel forward, the same quad-heavy squat as a front squat with no bar to hold. Use it when the rack position is the problem.

How to do it

  1. Step onto the platform facing away from the stack, press your back and head into the pad and settle your shoulders under the shoulder pads.
  2. Place your feet about shoulder width in the middle of the platform, toes turned out slightly, so your whole foot stays flat at the bottom.
  3. Straighten your legs a little to take the weight, then turn the side handles to free the sled.
  4. Bend your knees and let them travel forward over your toes, lowering until your thighs pass parallel to the platform.
  5. Push the platform away through your whole foot and stand back up without snapping your knees straight, then start the next rep.
  6. After the last rep, stand fully, turn the handles back and lower the sled onto the stops.

Cues

  • Back and hips glued to the pad
  • Knees forward, heels down
  • Same depth on every rep

Common mistakes

  • Stopping at a quarter squat once the weight gets heavy: pick a load you can lower until your thighs pass parallel and only count those reps.
  • Heels lifting at the bottom: move your feet a little higher on the platform until your whole foot stays down at full depth.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom: pause for a beat where the sled turns around, then push, and lighten the load if you cannot.
Build a session with Hack Squat

Fixed bar path on your back

Smith Squat

Quads, Glutes

The rails remove balance, and stepping your feet slightly forward lets you squat upright. A simple swap when you want a bar but not a front rack.

How to do it

  1. Set the safety stops just below your lowest squat depth and the bar at about upper-chest height.
  2. Step under the bar and rest it across your upper back, not your neck, with your hands just outside your shoulders.
  3. Set your feet at shoulder width, slightly in front of the bar, with your toes turned out a little.
  4. Stand up to lift the bar, twist it to unhook it, take a big breath and brace.
  5. Sit down between your heels, knees and hips bending together, until your thighs reach parallel or lower, then push the floor away to stand.
  6. After your last rep, twist the bar back onto the nearest hook before stepping out.

Cues

  • Feet a half step forward
  • Push the floor away
  • Hooks on before you step out

Common mistakes

  • Feet directly under the bar: with a fixed vertical path this pushes your knees far forward and tips you onto your toes; step your feet slightly forward until your weight sits over your mid-foot.
  • Cutting depth because the machine feels heavy: lower the weight and squat to at least parallel; the safeties are there so you can.
  • Skipping the safety stops: set them every time, just below your bottom position, so a missed rep lands on the stops instead of on you.
Build a session with Smith Squat

Supported swap for heavy quad work

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

Your back rests on the pad, so you can push your quads to failure with nothing on your shoulders, wrists or spine.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your back and hips flat against the pad and set the seat so your knees can bend to about 90 degrees or more.
  2. Place your feet flat on the platform about shoulder width, toes turned out a little, and hold the side handles.
  3. Press the platform away and free the safety stops, keeping a slight bend in your knees.
  4. Bend your knees under control and let them come toward your chest, stopping before your lower back peels off the pad.
  5. Drive through your whole foot until your legs are nearly straight, without locking your knees, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lower back stays on the pad
  • Knees track over the toes
  • Stop just short of lockout

Common mistakes

  • Lowering so far that your hips curl off the seat: the depth ends where your back stays flat.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: keep a slight bend so the legs, not the joints, hold the weight.
Build a session with Leg Press

Dumbbells

Front-loaded and upright, with lighter weight. Go deep and use higher reps.

Closest dumbbell swap

Dumbbell Front Squat

Quads, Glutes

Dumbbells resting on your shoulders copy the front-loaded position with no wrist bend. The load is lighter, so use higher reps.

How to do it

  1. Clean or lift both dumbbells onto the front of your shoulders, one end of each resting there, elbows pointing forward.
  2. Stand with your feet a bit wider than your hips and toes turned out slightly.
  3. Sit down between your heels until your hip crease drops to knee height or lower.
  4. Drive the floor away and stand up without letting your elbows drop.

Cues

  • Elbows high, chest proud
  • Knees track over the toes
  • Whole foot on the floor

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows sink so the dumbbells pull your chest forward and turn the squat into a lean.
  • Stopping short of parallel because the dumbbells feel awkward. Go lighter until you can reach depth.
Build a session with Dumbbell Front Squat

Simplest swap with one dumbbell

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

One dumbbell held at your chest keeps your torso upright like a front squat. It is the easiest front-loaded squat to learn.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one dumbbell, stand it on end and cup the top plate in both palms so it rests against your breastbone.
  2. Set your feet a little wider than your hips with your toes turned out slightly, and point your elbows at the floor.
  3. Take a breath and brace, then sit straight down between your heels, letting your knees travel forward over your toes.
  4. Go as deep as you can while your heels stay down and the dumbbell stays against your chest; your elbows should finish just inside your knees.
  5. Drive your whole foot into the floor and stand up tall, then breathe and brace again before the next rep.

Cues

  • Dumbbell glued to your breastbone
  • Sit down between your heels
  • Elbows inside your knees at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Letting the dumbbell drift away from your chest: your arms tire before your legs and you tip forward, so keep it pinned and pick a weight you can hold for the whole set.
  • Heels lifting at the bottom: stop the rep a little higher or put a small plate under each heel.
  • Knees falling inward on the way up: push them out toward your little toes and use your elbows as a guide at the bottom.
Build a session with Goblet Squat

Most quad-heavy dumbbell swap

Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat

Quads

Raising your heels lets your knees drive forward with your chest tall, which is where a front squat puts its load. Pick it for quads with one dumbbell.

How to do it

  1. Set your heels on a small plate, wedge or thick book with your feet close together and toes pointing forward or slightly out.
  2. Cup the top end of one dumbbell under your chin, elbows down.
  3. Sit straight down, letting your knees drive forward past your toes, until the backs of your thighs touch your calves or you reach your lowest upright position.
  4. Stand by pushing through the balls of the feet and the heels together, keeping your chest tall.

Cues

  • Knees forward, chest up
  • Sit straight down
  • Smooth bottom, no bounce

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward to finish the rep: that hands the work to your hips. Lighten the dumbbell and stay tall.
  • Stopping high because it burns: the deepest part is where the quads are stretched and do the most.
Build a session with Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat

Bodyweight

No weights at all: one side at a time, as deep as you can.

Best with no equipment

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

A deep squat onto one leg at a time with your torso upright, so bodyweight alone works your quads and inner thighs. Hold a light weight at your chest once bodyweight gets easy.

How to do it

  1. Take a very wide stance, about twice the width of your shoulders, with the toes turned out a little.
  2. Bend your right knee and sit your hips down toward your right heel, letting the left leg straighten with the toes pointing up.
  3. Sink as deep as you can with the right foot flat and your chest lifted.
  4. Press the floor away with the right foot to return to the middle, then sit to the left.

Cues

  • Sit down, not forward
  • Flat foot on the bent side
  • Long leg stays straight

Common mistakes

  • Folding the chest down to the knee to get lower: hold a light weight out in front as a counterbalance instead.
  • Rushing from side to side: stop in the middle for a breath between reps.
Build a session with Cossack Squat

Hamstrings to pair with them

Each example session adds one hamstring exercise, since front squats and their swaps train mostly the front of your thighs.

Hamstrings and glutes with a barbell

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The hinge to pair with the barbell session, for the back of your thighs.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at mid-thigh height, take it with a double overhand grip just outside your thighs and step back with your feet about hip width.
  2. Stand tall with the bar against your thighs, unlock your knees slightly and keep that bend fixed for the whole set.
  3. Push your hips straight back and let the bar slide down your thighs, chest coming forward as your hips go back.
  4. Stop when your hips stop moving backward and you feel a hard stretch in your hamstrings, usually somewhere between your knees and mid-shin.
  5. Push your feet into the floor and drive your hips forward until you stand tall, without leaning back at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back, not chest down
  • Bar stays on your legs
  • Knees soft and still

Common mistakes

  • Chasing the floor: if your back rounds to reach lower, your hamstrings have already run out. End the rep where your hips stop going back.
  • Squatting the weight down: if your knees keep bending as you lower, the stretch leaves your hamstrings. Lock in the knee angle at the top and only move at the hips.
  • Letting the bar drift forward: a bar a few inches off your legs pulls on your lower back. Drag it down your thighs, and use straps if your grip is what makes it swing.
Build a session with Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings on a machine

Lying Leg Curl

Hamstrings

Pairs with the machine session, for the hamstrings the squats leave out.

How to do it

  1. Set the machine so your knees line up with the pivot point when you lie face down, and move the ankle pad to sit on your lower calves, just above your heels.
  2. Lie flat with your kneecaps hanging just past the end of the bench, hold the handles and press your hips into the pad.
  3. Bend your knees and pull the pad up in a smooth arc until your heels are as close to your glutes as the machine allows.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top without letting your hips lift off the bench.
  5. Lower the pad over about two seconds until your legs are almost straight, and start the next rep before the stack touches down.

Cues

  • Hips glued to the pad
  • Heels to glutes
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your hips as the weight gets heavy: your lower back takes over and the hamstrings do less. Drop the load until your hips stay down on every rep.
  • Stopping short at the bottom: that cuts out the part of the rep where your hamstrings are longest. Let your legs come back to almost straight before you curl again.
  • Swinging the pad up: a kick from the bottom hands the hardest part of the rep to momentum. Count two seconds down and start each rep from a dead stop.
Build a session with Lying Leg Curl

Hamstrings and glutes with dumbbells

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The hinge to pair with the dumbbell session.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, one dumbbell per hand resting against the front of your thighs, palms facing you.
  2. Unlock your knees slightly, pull your shoulders down and back, and take a breath into your stomach.
  3. Push your hips straight back and let your chest tip forward, sliding the dumbbells down the front of your legs with your back flat and knees barely changing angle.
  4. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched and your hips will not travel back any farther, typically with the dumbbells somewhere between the knee and mid-shin.
  5. Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to stand tall, finishing upright without leaning back.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells skim your legs
  • Stand tall, don't lean back

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees more as you go down: that turns the hinge into a squat; keep the knee bend you started with and let the hips do the moving.
  • Rounding the back to reach lower: end the rep where your hips stop going back, even if the dumbbells are only at your knees.
  • Letting the dumbbells drift forward: keep them brushing your thighs and shins so the load stays over your feet and off your lower back.
Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Example sessions without the front squat

Session 1

Barbell, but the front rack hurts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Landmine

You have a rack and a barbell, and holding the bar in the front rack hurts your wrists or will not stay in place.

The Zercher squat takes the front squat's place as the heavy, upright lift at low reps with long rest. The landmine hack squat adds quad volume with no wrist bend, and the Romanian deadlift covers the hamstrings. 10 working sets.

Legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Zercher Squat2 warm-up sets first 4 × 5–8 2 3 min
Landmine Hack Squat 3 × 10–12 2 2 min
Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–10 2 2:30 min
How to run it
Twice a week on non-consecutive days. Use a thin pad or towel on the bar for the Zercher squat.
How to progress
Add the smallest jump your plates allow to the Zercher squat when every set reaches 8 reps at the RIR shown. On the other lifts, reach the top of the range first, then add weight.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Gym, machines instead

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentHack Squat, Leg Press, Lying Leg Curl

You train in a gym with machines and would rather not wrestle with a front rack.

The hack squat gives the front squat's upright, quad-heavy position with your back supported. The leg press adds volume, and a leg curl trains the hamstrings. 10 working sets.

Legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hack Squat1 warm-up set firstSame depth every rep. 4 × 8–12 2 2:30 min
Leg PressFeet low on the platform. 3 × 12–15 1 2 min
Lying Leg Curl 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Twice a week on non-consecutive days.
How to progress
When every set of a lift reaches the top of its range at the RIR shown, add the smallest weight jump next session and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Home, dumbbells only

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train at home with a pair of dumbbells and no rack.

Dumbbells are lighter than a loaded bar, so the session uses higher reps, shorter rest and sets close to failure. Dumbbell front squats lead, heels-elevated goblet squats push your quads further, and a dumbbell Romanian deadlift covers the hamstrings. 11 working sets.

Legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Front Squat1 warm-up set first 4 × 10–15 1 90 s
Heels-Elevated Goblet SquatHeels on a plate or wedge. 4 × 12–20 1 75 s
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3 × 12–15 1 75 s
How to run it
Twice a week on non-consecutive days. Slow every lowering to three seconds.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then move up a dumbbell, or add a pause at the bottom if you are at your heaviest.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What can I replace front squats with?

The Zercher squat if your wrists are the problem, the hack squat in a gym, and the dumbbell front squat or goblet squat at home. All keep your torso upright and your quads doing most of the work.

What muscles does the front squat work?

Mostly your quads, with your glutes and inner thighs helping, and your upper back and trunk holding the bar in place.

What is a front squat alternative with dumbbells?

The dumbbell front squat, with the dumbbells resting on your shoulders, is the closest. The goblet squat and heels-elevated goblet squat work with one dumbbell.

What is a front squat alternative for wrist pain?

The Zercher squat and landmine hack squat keep the load in front with no wrist bend. A cross-arm grip on the front squat also takes most of the bend out.

Is the goblet squat as good as the front squat?

It trains the same muscles in the same upright position, but you cannot load it as heavily. It is a good swap for high reps or for learning the position.

What is a front squat alternative at home?

With dumbbells, do dumbbell front squats or goblet squats. With no equipment, Cossack squats work each leg through a deep, upright squat.